Leslie Outhier, 34, pulls grass out of a vegetable patch during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at Dover Street Park on January 18, 2013 in Oakland, Calif. Phat Beets Produce, an urban farm collective, puts on the day to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and build community at their garden in the Dover Street Park. less

Leslie Outhier, 34, pulls grass out of a vegetable patch during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at Dover Street Park on January 18, 2013 in Oakland, Calif. Phat Beets Produce, an urban farm ... more

Photo: Codi Mills, The Chronicle

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Dreams bear fruit at Oakland community garden and park

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Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream rang loud and clear Sunday morning at a once-vacant lot in North Oakland that's now an oasis of fruit trees, vegetable gardens and play areas for kids.

Dover Street Park, a few yards from where the Black Panthers were founded in the late 1960s, was hopping Sunday morning with about 100 neighbors gathered to share pancakes, garden, catch up and enjoy the sunshine.

Above it all, King's speeches wafted from loudspeakers across the 1-acre park.

"Martin Luther King would love this place," said Margaret Crayton, who's lived in the neighborhood for 28 years and was busy flipping pancakes Sunday. "He was all about community service and feeding the poor. And that's what we've got."

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The calm and happy scene Sunday was a far cry from the park's earlier incarnations. Decades ago it was the athletic area for the old University High School, and then Merritt College at the same site, before the college moved to the East Oakland hills more than 40 years ago.

Merritt students Bobby Seale and Huey Newton met there in 1966 and formed the Black Panther Party, the radical political movement for African American empowerment.

After the college relocated, the property sat fenced and vacant for at least 30 years, attracting trash and crime in a neighborhood that already had plenty of both. Numerous plans came and went: a firehouse, a shopping mall, housing.

Joining forces

But about a decade ago, a doctor from nearby Children's Hospital, neighbors and a community-garden nonprofit joined forces to turn the land into something productive. Working with the city, they put in lawns, a play structure, benches, pathways, 35 fruit trees and a large vegetable garden.

The garden is especially important because the neighborhood has been bereft of grocery stores for decades: plenty of liquor stores, but not many places to buy apples.

Wednesday and Sunday are garden work days at the park, and the food is free for anyone. On Sunday, it was booming with artichokes, kale, fava beans and collards. In all, the garden produces about 3,000 pounds of produce a year.

"It seems like people want to solve violence by throwing more and more police at the problem. We think things like this are more effective," said Max Cadji of Phat Beets Produce, which helps with the garden. "Justice, racism, housing, food - it's all connected."

The park has been transformative for the neighborhood since it opened about five years ago, nearby residents said. Crime and blight are way down, and it's become a gathering spot for celebrations.

"I'm here every day. I wouldn't know half the people I know without this park," said Pascale Schmidt, a mother of two who lives next to the park. "My kids learned to ride bikes here, to garden. It's a place where people sit down and start conversations. It sounds cliched, but it really happens."

Not just a potluck

For Gary "Malachi" Scott, the park has been a lifesaver. He was paroled in June from San Quentin after serving a 15-year sentence for second-degree murder. Just two weeks after his release, he came across a work party and potluck at Dover Street Park, and was instantly hooked.

"It was more than just a potluck," he said. "I was nervous; I wasn't sure about my interactions with people. But no one judged me. I met all these people, and learned a lot, and got involved."

Now Scott leads antiviolence talks with young people around the neighborhood, revisiting crime sites to talk about both the victims and the perpetrators. He's also a regular at the garden, encouraging his charges to eat more vegetables and fewer french fries.

"Am I eating healthier? Um, it's a slow transition," he said with a laugh. "There's not many carnivores left around Oakland."

Happy scene

Scott was in a good mood Sunday, chatting with new friends and taking in the scene: kids running on the grass, teenagers pulling weeds in the garden, people of all ages and backgrounds sharing pancakes.

"To me, Martin Luther King was about unity, justice, community," he said. "I think if he could see this right now, he'd be touched."